Chef
Martin Yan
“Yan Can Cook, So Can You!” has always been the motto of Martin Yan, chef extraordinaire, popular television host of more than 3,500 culinary and travel TV shows and author of 35 cookbooks. He is one of the most recognizable Chinese American icons in the culinary world with a career spanning over four decades. Promoting Chinese and Asian cuisines has been his life-long mission.
Since 1978, his award-winning public television series, Yan Can Cook, has introduced generations of audiences to Chinese and Asian cuisines. Chef Yan has received numerous awards and recognitions including the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022 and the lifetime achievement award from the International Association of Cooking Professionals. He was recently honored with the 2023 Culinary Excellence Award at the Sonoma International Film Festival.
Chef Yan has remained an active international food and cultural ambassador. He roams the world working with home chefs and top chefs to entertain and educate the public, sharing his unique humor and strong passion for cooking.
Andrew Zimmern
Andrew Zimmern is an Emmy-winning and four-time James Beard Award-winning TV personality, chef, writer and passionate global citizen. As the creator, executive producer and host of the Bizarre Foods franchise, Andrew Zimmern's Driven by Food, What's Eating America, Emmy-nominated Family Dinner, Wild Game Kitchen, Field to Fire and the Emmy-winning The Zimmern List, he has devoted his life to exploring and promoting cultural acceptance, tolerance and understanding through food. He has written four books, including the Ippy Gold Medal award-winning AZ and the Lost City of Ophir. Andrew is the founder and chairman of Intuitive Content, named one of the top 100 production companies in the world by Realscreen, and Passport Hospitality, a restaurant and food service development company. He is passionate about his philanthropic endeavors and sits on the boards of Services for the UnderServed, EXPLR Media, Soigne Hospitality, Giving Kitchen, Beans is How and The Great Northern. He is on the advisory boards of Procure Impact and the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, and serves on City Harvest's Food Council. Andrew is a Global Goodwill Ambassador for the UnitedNations World Food Programme and The Nature Conservancy, and is the International Rescue Committee's Voice for Nutrition. He is a founding member of the Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture and the Independent Restaurant Coalition.
Maneet Chauhan
Maneet Chauhan is an award-winning chef, author, television personality and founding partner and president of Morph Hospitality Group in Nashville, Tennessee. She is a recipient of the 2012 James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Award for her role as a permanent judge on Food Network's "Chopped." In addition to judging roles on Food Network, Maneet also competes at the highest level and most recently won Guy Fieri's Tournament of Champions II, where she was able to donate winnings of $40,000 to help different restaurants survive the pandemic.
Born in Punjab, India, chef Chauhan worked in some of the country's finest hotels before moving to the U.S. to study at the Culinary Institute of America. She went on to work as executive chef in some of New York City and Chicago's top restaurants, which received national acclaim under her leadership. After relocating to Nashville, Tennessee, Chauhan and her husband, Vivek Deora, co-founded Morph Hospitality Group, opening their first restaurant, Chauhan Ale & Masala House in 2014. With the goal of filling gaps in Nashville's culinary landscape, the group opened Tansuo, a Chinese concept, and The Mockingbird, a global diner, in 2017. Chef Chauhan is also a co-founder of Hop Springs, home to the state's largest craft brewery and a fun-filled 84 acre beer park located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Chauhan is the author of two cookbooks, Flavors of My World and her most recent, Chaat: The Best Recipes from the Kitchens, Markets, and Railways of India, which was released in October 2020. Published by Clarkson Potter, the book was inspired by Maneet's epic cross-country railroad expedition that brought her to local markets, street vendors and the homes of family & friends. Chaat has been recognized as one of Fall 2020's most anticipated cookbooks and has appeared in the New York Times, Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Food Network Magazine, and more. And, received the IACP Cookbook Award in October 2021.
A leader in the Nashville community, Chauhan has been honored as one of the Nashville Business Journal's "40 under 40", which highlights young, successful business leaders and was recognized in Nashville Lifestyles' Women in Business, which showcases local women who are at the top of their respective industries. In March 2020, Chauhan founded Hospitality Strong, a nonprofit benefitting hospitality workers in need and currently serves as an advisory board member for Nashville's COVID-19 Response Fund, founded to assist individuals, families and nonprofits experiencing financial hardship due to the virus.
When she's not in the kitchen or traveling, chef Chauhan can be found at home in Franklin, Tennessee, with her husband, Vivek Deora, their daughter, Shagun, and their son, Karma.
Tyler Florence
Twenty-eight-year Food Network veteran Tyler Florence has captivated millions of viewers on numerous hit shows, including Emmy nominated "Tyler's Ultimate," and "The Great Food Truck Race," heading into its 18th season. His 17 cookbooks, American Grill (Abrams) was released in May 2024.
Tyler's full-stack production company, Monarch Collective, Inc., produces projects for television and film, plus digital content and advertising videos for a variety of well-known clients including The Venetian Resort, Red Bull, The Four Seasons and The Food Network/Discovery to name a few.
A proud graduate of Johnson & Wales University '94, '04 Hon, and a two- time James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef West Coast, Tyler launched his award-winning flagship restaurant, Wayfare Tavern, over a decade ago. Under his restaurant group, The Greater Organization, Tyler operates several other highly acclaimed spots. Miller & Lux, recently named Best Steakhouse, Bay Area by San Francisco Magazine, is located in the Chase Arena, home of the Golden State Warriors. In addition, Tyler Florence was also named "2024 San Francisco Chef Of The Year" by San Francisco Magazine. In December 2023 he opened the second outpost of Miller & Lux in Hawaii, at the Four Seasons Hualalai resort.
Tiffany Derry
Beaumont, Texas native Tiffany Derry is the founder of Tiffany Derry Concepts and co-founder of T2D Concepts, the Texas-based purposedriven hospitality group behind Roots Chicken Shak, Roots Southern Table, and 'Shef Tiffany spice and apparel line.
Tiffany knew her purpose was to be in the kitchen from an early age. Growing up on her family's farm in the South, farm-to-table eating wasn't a trend, it was a way of life—eating with the seasons, canning and preserving freshpicked fruits and vegetables, fresh pies on the counter, never letting anything go to waste.
Her grandmother always welcomed guests to her kitchen with love and taught Tiffany that cooking is more than just putting a few ingredients together—it's a passion. This propelled Tiffany to apply to her first cooking job at the age of 15 at IHOP, which she was denied because of her race and gender and was hired as a server instead. Tiffany was eventually given the opportunity to cook when the kitchen was understaffed, and she stepped in and stepped up. In just a short amount of time, she was promoted to kitchen management, making her the youngest person to hold a managerial role in the restaurant.
Tiffany earned her culinary degree from the Art Institute of Houston and deepened her appreciation for various cuisines and cultures through the study abroad program that took her to Costa Rica, Mexico, Italy, France, China, and Hawaii.
Tiffany went on to cook in esteemed kitchens throughout Texas including Pesce, Grotto Cucina Napolitano, and Go Fish Ocean Club. In 2010, Tiffany teamed with the Halston Group to open Private|Social in Dallas to much fanfare, including a 4-star review and a "Best Chefs in DFW" title from The Dallas Morning News.
Tiffany then decided to break out on her own and founded Tiffany Derry Concepts in 2013, a company established to support her business and culinary ventures including television shows, brand partnerships, a fast-casual concept.
The Cupboard by Tiffany Derry. Tiffany stepped into the spotlight when she appeared on Bravo's Top Chef Season 7, earning the title of "fan favorite" and finishing in the top four. Derry's quiet confidence, warm southern charm, and culinary expertise made her a natural selection for Top Chef: All-Stars, where she was again a finalist. Tiffany's enthusiastic personality has led to many more television appearances on shows such as Chopped, Chopped Kids, Top Chef, The Great American Recipe, Beat Bobby Flay, Tournament of Champions, The Great American Soul Food Cook-off, Bar Rescue, Top Chef Junior, Top Chef Amateurs, and more. In 2016, Tiffany and her business partner Tom Foley, Esq. founded T2D Concepts, which operates her current restaurants and her spice and apparel line.
Fueled by a spirit of service and a deep-rooted hunger to drive social change, T2D aims to bridge the gender and racial wealth gap in the hospitality industry through the power of good food and meaningful dialogue around the table.
In 2022, the group made the NRN Power List, the definitive list of 50 industry leaders who are not only setting trends today, but also shaping them for tomorrow.
Tiffany's authentic approach to Southern cooking landed her on the 2022 James Beard Award finalist list in two categories—Best Chef: Texas and Best New Restaurant for Roots Southern Table. Outside of her restaurants, Tiffany is a fierce advocate for social justice and equity across gender, race, and food access.
She spends much of her spare time lobbying politicians to pass sustainable and healthy food polices—she was integral in getting the farm bill updated in 2013. Tiffany serves as a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier and a spokesperson for the James Beard Foundation's sustainability eff.
Stephanie Izard
Stephanie Izard, recipient of James Beard Best Chef: Great Lakes and Food & Wine Best New Chef, is the Executive Chef and Owner of Girl & the Goat, Little Goat, Duck Duck Goat, and Cabra in Chicago, along with Girl & the Goat and Cabra in Los Angeles. She will also be opening a new restaurant in early 2025: Valley Goat, located in the heart of Silicon Valley. Izard also won the coveted title of Iron Chef in 2017 and was the 4th winner of Bravo's Top Chef. Izard jumped back into television in 2023 with the release of The Curious Chef, a Tastemade television series where she visits home cooks to get a taste of their time-honored recipes and traditions, alongside numerous appearances, as both a competitor and a judge, on shows including Tournament of Champions, Hell's Kitchen, Superchef Grudge Match, Guy's Grocery Games, Chopped, and more.
A James Beard Best New Restaurant nominee, Girl & the Goat has been praised by high-profile publications such as Saveur, New York Times, and Food & Wine. Little Goat Diner, Stephanie's highly successful follow-up to Girl & the Goat, features classic, Americana cuisine in a diner setting. In March 2016, Stephanie opened her third restaurant, a Chinese-inspired concept called Duck Duck Goat and in 2019, Stephanie's Peruvian-inspired eatery, Cabra, opened on the rooftop of The Hoxton, Chicago. Most recently, Izard opened her first two restaurants outside of Chicago: Girl & the Goat and Cabra, both in downtown Los Angeles. Izard's first book, Girl in the Kitchen, was released in 2011 and her second book Gather & Graze was released in April 2018.
Claudette Zepeda
Claudette Zepeda is an award-winning, San Diego-based celebrity chef and culinary entrepreneur known for her fearless style and bold approach to regional Mexican cuisine. A celebrated culinary anthropologist, Zepeda draws upon 20+ years of experience working in restaurant kitchens, as well as her extensive travels around the world and throughout Mexico. Zepeda's multi-faceted expertise is showcased in her role overseeing the creative vision as Founder of Chispa Hospitality with projects in Australia and México. VAGA restaurant in San Diego's North County is where she authors a love letter to her hometown with a menu that celebrates local flavors and immigrant influences. Seen on 2022 Netflix's edition of Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend, winning her challenge & on Iron Chef México where she successfully won her challenge and tied in the finale. Also in the fall of 2022, she showcased her talents by beating Bobby Flay's Titans on Bobby's Triple Threat and winning the cash prize.
In 2019 Zepeda founded Viva La Vida, LLC. Through Viva La Vida, Zepeda helps Mexican women support their families without sacrificing their safety. Expanding into a 501c3 in 2024 is to establish a fund dedicated to helping Hispanic women break from generational poverty in the United States.